The Camarillo office of the Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner has cards verifying that “I am a Farmworker Helping to Protect our Food Supply During the Coronavirus Pandemic”. These cards may be obtained from their office and all that a company needs to do is fill out the information for each card and issue one per employee so that they can show it when they receive their vaccination. These cards are a valid document for obtaining the COVID-19 vaccination. As an alternative, VCAA has been recommending that employers may simply provide a letter on their company letterhead indicating the name of the individual and that the individual is an agricultural employee working for the company.
VCAA has been informed by the Ag Commissioner’s Office that these cards have been sufficient for mobile clinics. One VCAA client indicated that in addition to the card, an employee should be prepared to present his/her latest wage statement. The Ag Commissioner’s Office is checking this out today.
However, VCAA has received prior complaints from VCAA members that certain public forums that are administering the COVID-19 vaccination were also seeking additional information beyond a letter or card from the employer.
VCAA agrees that the Ag Commissioner’s card should be sufficient if you are entertaining a mobile clinic at the farm. Under those circumstances, the workers are clearly agricultural essential workers. However, if a worker shows up at a public forum for a shot, its conceivable that some of the representatives might believe that the document presented aren’t correct and, therefore, are requesting additional proof such as a wage statement.
